


If the Fates Allow

by yours_truly



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 15:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13169421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yours_truly/pseuds/yours_truly
Summary: As a case wraps up, Mulder and Scully are stranded in New York City due to a snowstorm. It looks like there's no way Scully will make it home for Christmas Eve dinner at her mother's, but maybe the two partners can enjoy some time together talking about holidays past... and future.





	If the Fates Allow

Mulder pressed the END button on his phone and looked at Scully with a pained expression. “The storm’s already been over Washington, and it’s going to hit New York hard by morning. There’s no way we’ll get a flight at this point, but if we head down to Penn Station we might be able to grab seats on one of the overnight Northeast Regionals.”

 

Scully sighed. Malevolent apparitions in the fly system at Lincoln Center two days before Christmas? And a nor'easter coming up the coast? She should have known better than to expect to be home in time for dinner at her mother’s.

 

Mulder stuck his hands in the pockets of his coat and shuffled his feet. “I’m sorry,” he said. “If a fat man in a sleigh passes by we can try to bum a ride, but I don’t know if we want to count on that.”

 

“It’s fine,” she said. It was mostly fine. It was inconvenient. It could be worse. “Let’s grab a taxi back to the hotel and then go to the train station. If that’s the best we can do, then that’s the best we can do.”

 

Her partner pursed his lips and looked like he wanted to say more, but all he did was nod and fall into step just behind her as they swept through the dramatic glass doors of the theatre and headed toward Broadway. Snow was already lightly falling from the sky, but there was no wind and nothing was sticking to the ground yet; Currier and Ives couldn’t have come up with anything prettier, especially with the way the lights of the city danced on the wet pavement.

 

They walked for close to three blocks without managing to hail a cab. Scully eventually slipped while trying to wave frantically at the traffic and walk backwards at the same time, so Mulder grabbed at her extended hand and tugged her further onto the sidewalk, away from the street. “Let’s just walk for a little while, Scully. It’s not even that cold out, and we can find somewhere to eat a late dinner.”

 

She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she also had to accept that with their disrupted travel plans there was no real reason to rush anywhere. They kept walking, and it wasn’t until they were approaching Columbus Circle and Mulder suddenly veered off to the left that she realized they had never let go of one another’s hands.

 

“Mulder, what–”

 

When he turned to look at back at her, there was a mischievous glint in his eye. His voice was wheedling as he said, “I have an idea, Scully. This is gonna be fun.”

 

“You said you wanted to find food!” she protested.

 

“It’s the city that never sleeps. This won’t take too long, I promise. Things will still be open when we’re done here.”

 

‘Here’ was apparently Central Park, and she breathed in deeply as they passed a vendor selling candied nuts. The spicy, sugary scent somehow warmed her, and she held it in her lungs as long as possible before exhaling through her mouth, leaving a puffy vapor trail behind her. She turned her head to watch it dissipate into the air, and when she looked back she finally saw what must be Mulder’s final destination: a line of horse-drawn carriages pulled up against the curb, their drivers bundled in heavy overcoats and expectantly watching the couple approaching them.

 

Scully’s steps slowed, and Mulder released her hand as he swung around to face her.

 

“No?” he asked.

 

“I’m not opposed to the idea,” she said carefully, “just confused about the why.”

 

He shrugged. “So that you have extensive first-hand knowledge next time you need to call me a horse’s ass.” She held his gaze and waited him out until he shrugged again. “It seems like, 'Why not?’ is really the better question at this point, Scully,” he said in a quiet voice.

 

Scully blinked and in a split second decided to peel only the outermost layer off his loaded statement, but she smiled so that Mulder knew she wasn’t truly balking when she responded, “You’re right. We’ve got the time and we’ve earned some recreation, I think.”

 

His eyes flashed when she said 'recreation,’ and he walked over to the nearest driver and arranged for a 45-minute circuit through the park. Mulder helped Scully into the carriage and sat next to her. There was a thick blanket sitting on the opposite bench, and he spread it over both their laps.

 

There was a lurch as the horse began walking, and the clop-clop-clop of its hooves sounded hollow but oddly soft. The snow still wasn’t sticking, but it seemed to cast a hush over the world around them.

 

Mulder’s tone was still soft when he spoke. “Tell me about Christmas at your house when you were young.”

 

Scully had to scoff good-naturedly. “Depends on which house you want to know about. We had a hard time developing traditions because we were never in one place very long. Sometimes Ahab was around, sometimes he wasn’t. I don’t think I could honestly say there was such a thing as a typical Scully Christmas.”

 

“Did you set cookies out for Santa, though? Snoop for presents?”

 

“Mmm. Sometimes Melissa dragged me along when she would try to peek. But stealth wasn’t a strength of mine, so we always got caught.” She considered Mulder’s profile. “I bet you snooped every year,” she said.

 

Mulder made a buzzer noise, and it surprised a loud laugh out of Scully. “That’s the difference between you and me, Scully. I knew I’d get to open everything on Christmas anyway, so I was happy just imagining the possibilities in the meantime. I liked the anticipation… when I knew the answers were imminent.”

 

Scully sighed and settled deeper into the cushioned seat. It seemed not even stories of Christmases past could escape the weight of their search. Mulder pulled his left arm out from under the blanket and draped it over her shoulders, pulling her gently into his side. She went without resistance, and they lapsed into silence as they took in the beauty of the park around them. The holiday and the weather conspired to keep most people indoors, and it felt like as private a moment as the two of them ever truly got.

 

She glanced over at her partner sitting next to her, and although he didn’t take his gaze off the path in front of them, the corner of his mouth tilted up in the barest ghost of a smile, just an acknowledgement. _I see you and you see me._ “Whatcha thinking about, Scully?”

 

“You know what the real difference between you and me is, Mulder?”

 

His eyebrows lifted a bit, and she loved watching all the possible responses run through his head, just loved it. To be serious or playful? To be naughty or solicitous?

 

“Well, there’s six published articles, four years, three parking tickets–”

 

“And an extraterrestrial in a pear tree, no doubt.”

 

A grin broke forth at her effortless parry, his delight at their verbal fencing apparent. He finally turned to meet her eyes. “I don’t know then, Scully. What’s the real difference between you and me?”

 

Very slowly, she leaned upward and lightly pressed her lips against his. His nose was chilly where it pressed against her cheek, but then she supposed hers probably felt the same. They pulled apart just as slowly as they had come together, and she raised her hand to brush some snow out of his hair. “Tactile evidence only increases the anticipation, Mulder. It doesn’t diminish it.”

 

The slightly concussed look on her partner’s face was undeniably adorable, and he shook his head slightly as if to clear it while they both relaxed again into the carriage seat. “Far be it from me to argue with that, Scully.”

 

The snow was finally starting to accumulate on the grass. They’d have to head for the train station soon, and there was probably a long night ahead of them, but right now there was just the snow, the quiet crunch of the horse’s steps, and one another.

 

“Merry Christmas, Mulder.”

 

“Merry Christmas, Scully.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for @gazeatscully on tumblr for the X-Files Secret Santa exchange in 2015.


End file.
